Haunted Wood the greater cause
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#1





an evening draped in lilac and amber arrived alongside the frost-tipped soldier.  the plummeting temperature and coming snow brought pain to her joints, and as she trudged through what had already fallen she knew that she would soon need to rest.  an open field transitioned first to scattered birch then to dense woodlands, offering some respite.

she slowed as she came to the side of a tall, gnarled oak tree.  at its base was an opening that, if cleared, would be large enough for her.  her large forepaws made simple work of it, dragging out leaves, dirt, and snow.  the smell of freshly turned earth filled her nostrils, the sound of her effort providing white noise to an otherwise quiet night.
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#2
when he was not at akashingo or mereo, germanicus explored.

he had not seen much more than red sand for a long while. it was with relief that he found himself swathed in darkness and alone. for the first time in a long while he was allowed the chaos of his own silent thoughts.

soon he felt he must go to the caldera.

germanicus let his consciousness be overtaken by the sound of digging. his steps carried him toward an ancient oak.

beneath it was a fearsomely large creature. large paws excavated earth with a cold precision. 

"hail," the imperator greeted. he halted some feet away. "have you claimed this place?"
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though he approaches on her good side, she nearly misses his arrival until just moments before he calls out to her.  her ear flickers in his direction and continues to dig for a short time until she comes to what she considers an acceptable stopping point.  she raises her face to him and surveys him in the dim twilight, unable to discern much in this lighting aside from his size.  he was smaller than her, and by his form he was likely younger as well.

for the night, she says.  ingrid's voice is low and rumbling with an obvious accent. to a human ear, it might sound something like russian.  you are passing through?
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they appraised one another. germanicus saw the heavy tears across one side of her face. the woman's voice was accented.

she reminded him of the fierce heathens which his father's army had not been able to subdue.

"i am." the imperator observed her task. "it would not be unwelcome to share a meal with a fellow wanderer." germanicus allowed himself the pleasure of this brief anonymity. he fell silent, ready to move on should the other decline.
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she turns the rest of her body towards him now.  'just passing through' meant he was of no concern to her.  his next statement did manage to pique her interest; though she did not yet hunger, ingrid would never turn down good meat.  yes.  she offers a curt nod.  her body would store it.  there was always more room inside.

this meal, what are you after?  her eyes glazed for a moment while her nose sought after the scent of prey.  there were options available to them, most of them small.  birds.  rabbits.  perhaps a deer.
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"information."

germanicus spoke honestly. his breath rose in pale smoke and was whisked away.

"i am searching for the whereabouts of the saints. they are led by a white giantess."

maybe like called to like.

the imperator stood ready to make their trail into the snow.
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this was not what she had meant.  she had always struggled with communicating with words, making herself clear.  it frustrated her, and she would have much preferred to do without talking altogether.

but it was required.  wolves these days were civilized.  i do not have this information.  she knows nothing of the stain the saints have left on these lands.  i do not come from here.

she begins to lead the way with her nose down, following the freshest trail.  why do you seek this?  the trees begin to break down into smaller, more navigable sections, and in an opening is a small fallow deer.  she is small and sickly. 

yet ingrid did not approach.  there were too many branches, she'd make a scene.  she turned her eye upon the strange man to confer nonverbally.
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she was a stranger. germanicus said nothing more. mereo grew, and it would grow even if the saints returned.

the large woman turned a look toward him. the imperator set his eyes upon their quarry. "the saint has killed two wolves and avoids justice."

such an utterance might inspire admiration for nyra. he would take the chance.

germanicus motioned toward the animal with his muzzle, then a patch of shadows to her left. if he moved low, he might be able to drive the deer from her bower into the amazon's clutches.
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murderers, he says, and her face contorts in a noiseless snarl.  the wolves of her mountain had done what they had to, but never senselessly.  she would keep an ear to the ground, for her own safety if nothing else.

there was no time to think it over.  she offers the stranger a curt nod.  crouching low, she steps to the side where there is more coverage to hide her large figure.  as she does so, one of her paws cracks a branch in half, where it was hidden beneath a pile of leaves.

it takes both the woman and the deer by surprise.  the deer to bolts, but she does so towards germanicus.
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the woman moved.

the snap of twig underpaw galvanized the imperator. the deer veered toward him and he leapt.

long years of calculation meant sometimes he did not calculate before an attack. he relied upon this instinct built into him.

his teeth closed barely upon the side of her neck. it was not a vital hold. he sought for purchase upon the slickly forested ground, knowing his rangier weight would not be enough to hold her for long.
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the branch had been on her blind side, and when it had cracked it sprang up out of the leaves and hit her square in the shin.  if ingrid were the type of woman to be subdued by shame, she might have been in this moment.  instinct drove her instead to lunge towards the deer.  with the man's jaws clasped around its windpipe, the deer's soft underbelly was revealed. 

fueled by fury from her misstep, she grasped it across the abdomen with her massive jaws and leveraged her weight backwards to break its skin.  its entrails spilled onto the ground in a bloody tangle as a failing bleat squeaked past its astonished mouth.
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nothing dissuaded the amazon.

germanicus held fast. he was splashed in warm blood as the woman ripped the stomach of the animal open.

allowing their quarry to slide from his grasp, germanicus stood over it. the death throes would be over soon enough, the wound being quite dire. "have you seen battle before?" he asked quietly.
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fevered with instinct, it took ingrid full seconds longer to drop their prey.  she nearly did not register that he spoke at all. 

yes, she answers, though it is all she would provide.  she didn't mind thinking about her scars, but thinking about the mountain was painful.  this woman you seek.  what is her name?  she licks the blood from her maw.  i will be traveling for some time.
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"nyra. she is a very large woman with yellow eyes and dozens of scars."

he would not eat until his companion had taken her fill. germanicus saw no reason to rush either of them. he would have liked to hear more about her time at war, but the monosyllabic answer suggested she did not want to tell it.
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gone was the subject from her mind as the man provideed the name of the woman he sought after. the deer's squall faded, fear and life gone from its eyes.  she spared the man a glance before instinct drove her to eat, and for some time she busied herself on the open gash that was the deer's belly.

she stepped back.  i can watch for this woman, she says.  though she had no reason to offer, there was nothing else for her to be doing.  and if she could prove herself as useful, it might do her well.  i am ingrid.
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"thank you. come to the redsand canyon in the mountains if you have word. ask for germanicus."

it was time to part ways. the imperator tore a long strip of hide but would leave the remainder for ingrid. nodding toward her, he paused to hear a last word and then pressed on into the territory.

despite the lack of information, his time here had been fruitful.
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she marks his kindness alongside the name of his land in her memory.  the mountains.  she cast a glance to them, hesitant to travel that way, but it seemed she had little choice.

thank you, she utters as he turns to leave.  she would keep an ear to the ground.